


Broken Paradise

by TheRamblingsOfaMadWoman



Category: Castle
Genre: Angst, F/M, Family, Hurt/Comfort, Love Wins
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-04
Updated: 2017-06-30
Packaged: 2018-11-09 02:35:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 7,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11095113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheRamblingsOfaMadWoman/pseuds/TheRamblingsOfaMadWoman
Summary: The Ryan's are the perfect little family Jenny and Kevin couldn't be more perfect as parents to their little Sarah Grace but what happens when a serial killer is thrown into the mix... How easily could their piece of paradise fall apart?





	1. Broken Paradise

**Writer's Ramblings:** __this is a fic about the Ryan family and what happens when Jenny is in danger. This fic switches between Ryan and Jenny's point of view so the name of the top is just to tell you who it is

 

 

**Jenny**

A knock at the door woke Jenny up from her afternoon nap, it seemed like every time her little angel's eyes fluttered shut so did hers. Luckily the knock hadn't awoken Sarah Grace and she was still peacefully sleeping in her nursery. Jenny sleepily stumbled to the door peeping through the hole to see a normal looking man in normal looking clothes.

She was always cautious because of her husband's job but now with a baby in the house she was extra cautious and aware of who she was answering the door to. Not even bothering to unlatch the lock, she let the chain slide until the door was only open enough for her to see out into the hall or, as it seemed, the barrel of a gun to slide through the crack.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Ryan

As the elevator doors closed Ryan allowed himself the luxury of a big yawn, he didn't like to let Jenny see how tired he was. He didn't want her to worry, she worried enough already and if she knew how exhausted he was she'd never let him leave the house. He smiled to himself at the thought of spending the day wrapped in a duvet on the sofa with his beautiful wife and daughter, his arms wrapped protectively around them, keeping his girls close to him, after all they are his life.

The ding of the elevator brought him back to reality, walking to his desk he almost banged into his partner. "Hey Ryan we've got a case, Beckett..." Esposito trailed off as he stared at his friend, Ryan looked down self-consciously then he realised why Espo was staring. His tie was in one big knot and not even close to his collar, as his tired fingers fumbled with the mass of fabric, he heard the chuckle of his partner disappearing further into the precinct. After making himself look presentable he followed Espo into the media room.

Sat there at her usual post was Tory Ellis, sat in her chair at the centre of everything in front of a TV typing away on a keyboard faster than anyone he'd ever known. She was the queen of media, and as usual Espo was flirting with her. Even though Ryan knew that Espo was in love with the gorgeous medical examiner, Lanie Parish, he still smiled when his friend went after the other woman. It was fun knowing he was one of the few people with the knowledge that if Tory actually paid attention to Espo's advances then he'd run a mile, because deep down he knew where his heart belonged.

"Look who managed to put his shoes on the right feet today!" Castle joked as Ryan wondered in.

"Dont give him too much credit his tie wasn't like that when he walked in." Esposito stated raising an eyebrow to Beckett.

"Still not used to the no sleep thing then Ryan, have you at least got boxers on under those baby stained trousers." Beckett inquired.

"I'll have you know that my morning routine has changed a lot. I prioritise other things over getting dressed, like making my wife a honey tea and checking on my daughter, making her milk and changing her nappy. Also ensuring my wife has as much sleep as possible."

"Alright Super Dad, we'll lay off" Espo teased.

"It's alright Ryan, I understand a lot changes when you have a baby in the house." Castle said. Beckett gave him a look that he didn't see but Ryan did, it was a wistful one which gave away that she was thinking about what it would be like when there were mini Rick's and mini Kate's toddling around.

"So back to the new case then." Tory said bringing them all back to their work, "Ryan, just to bring you up to speed, we have a serial killer called The Shooter. Original and clever I know, he's called that because after everything he does to his victims, which is everything from A-Z by the way, he just shoots them then leaves."

Whilst Tory was talking images of mutilated bodies kept popping up on the screen depicting all genders, ages and ethnicities the one and only thing they had in common was the bullet hole, execution-style to the left side of the head. There was a moment of shared silence when they saw the victims, a moment of respect.

"Any leads?" Beckett broke the silence, somehow she managed to take the tragedy and destruction from the images and turn it into strength, fuel and passion that drove her to making an arrest

"Not at the moment" Esposito answered reading from the file in his hands, something Ryan admired about his partner was that he would never get the facts wrong, even if it meant reading from a file instead of reciting off the top of his head as Beckett usually did. Both methods worked as well as each other, it was just a differing way of getting the facts straight. They all knew how important that was. Even Castle, who usually made fiction sound like fact, never covered up the vital information with his fantasies, instead he manipulated them into wacky ideas which gave much needed quirkiness and light to the darkness of their work.

"Do we at least have a physical description?" Ryan asked, he assumed that's why they were with the Tory in the first place because she had a picture of the bastard who killed so many people. On queue The Queen of Media clicked and typed to produce a pixelated image of a normal looking man in normal looking clothes.

"From the image I know he is a white male, aged between 30-40 years old, he is 6ft tall and has a manual job such as a carpenter." Tory said whilst bringing up more images.

"You got all that from these images?" Castle asked his eyebrows disappearing into his hair line, "there are only 5 of them and that could be anyone, hell that could be me"

"No he's much taller and has muscles so you don't have to worry Castle" Beckett teased, smiling at him.

"Your right you know he doesn't have my ruggedly handsome look" Castle replied getting a few tuts and sighs in response.

"I know all this because I have the technology to do so and his job is easy. His hands are worn and scared plus in this image he has a uniform on I checked with the company and they gave me a name-" Tory started to explain before Esposito opened his mouth to interrupt Tory held her hand up to stop him so that she could finish and answer the question she knew he was going to ask why didn't they already have him then?, "but his identity is fake so we can't track him and he's disappeared into the wind."

"You know me too well Espo said with a smile." Ryan got distracted by his phone buzzing, since Sarah Grace's arrival they had gone back to their original schedule of checking in with each other at least once everyday.

The text read:

Hey Hun, probably won't reply for a while Sarah Grace is not napping well today, hop everything's ok. Love Jenny.

It was a bit odd for Jenny not to put any kisses and 'Hun' in short hand was not her style she usually just put Kev or cop or lately it's been Best Dad ever even though Ryan had never shared his worries of fatherhood with his wife, she had enough to worry about, she still seemed to have this secret way of knowing.

Writer's Ramblings

Please feel free to comment and tell me what you think :)


	3. Preparing for the show

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to detective_rysposito for commenting!!!

Chapter 3

Jenny

With all her strength Jenny pushed on the door, using it as a shield against the gun, at first she thought she was going to get it shut leaving her and her baby safe but then there was a weight pushing on the other side of the door. Suddenly her feet were sliding around with a final push of the door Jenny was sent flying across the room her head smashing into the wooden coffee table. Her head throbbing and her vision blurry Jenny watched as a gloved hand reached through the gap, undoing the latch, the door swinging open as if it was betraying her. Letting this monster into her beloved home the place where she was meant to be safe. She wasn't safe now.

"Hello Jenny." A low male voice said, it sounded like he was underwater or maybe she was, maybe she was drowning and that was why she couldn't breathe "Or do you prefer Mrs Ryan now. Ah don't try to get up that's a pretty bad bump you've got there, your vision is probably swimming, can you see me Jen?" He moved quickly side to side like a snake he laughed as she tried to follow him but couldn't.

"What- wh-" the words wouldn't come they were racing through her mind, in her mind she was screaming at this man, "What do... You wa... Want!?" It wasn't a scream it was barely a whisper.

"I want to mess with the NYPD and you Jen are going to be my beautiful assistant." Whilst he had been talking 2 other men had come in they were dressed all in black as well Jenny couldn't see their faces the man in front of her was blocking her view.

"What is- Your name?" Even though her voice was coming back she still spoke quietly.

"You can call me... Serpent." There was a low laugh from across the room "and these two are Chris, the blonde and Wez the brown haired one"

"How come you get the cool name, that's not fair" Wez whined like it was a completely normal situation, Wez came across the room and picked Jenny up like she was a doll placing her roughly into one of her dining chairs that they had placed in the middle of the room adding the extra feature of zip ties to the wooden arm rests. Jenny put up a fight as Wez and Chris forced her hands onto the arm rests pulling the plastic ties until they felt like they were going to tear her wrists in half.

"There nice and comfy I will try not to get too much blood on your nice chair" the smile that spread across his face sent chills up her spine.

"Where's my daughter you bastard!" That time it was a scream but it didn't phase them, any of them, they smirked and glanced at each other.

"We've left her asleep don't worry we won't hurt her unless daddy does something he shouldn't do" his eyes shined with what looked like excitement but Jenny couldn't believe that it made her stomach turn too much to accept it. "Now I'm going to make you a deal, I am going to hurt you but don't look so worried Chris here is a doctor so if you pass out or lose too much blood then he'll sort you out. I also promise Jen not to lie to you."

"It's Jenny" she smiled when a look of shock passed over the Serpent's face before he composed the outburst of emotion "and I'm going to call you Tyler because you remind me of my weak ex-boyfriend, he was so full of himself and controlling but so weak and skinny that he never had any power. Just like you."

Once she was told that her angel was not going to be hurt Jenny's courage came back to her the pain was now partially gone only a low throbbing. Kevin had told her that if a bad guy ever got to her, to not be submissive instead match their strength, never let them have the upper hand.

She drew on this training now her mind running through possible escape routes if she had the opportunity the unlocked window in Sarah Grace's nursery was perfect she'd close the door and pull the chest of drawers in front of it them escape through the window. Simple. If only she could get out of the chair.

"Tyler huh, I can work with that. So Jenny shall we get started?" He emphasised her name, almost sung it like a purr rumbling from his throat, it made bile rise up in her throat. With a quick nod to Chris and Wez they set about putting cameras up but the little red light never went on, it didn't make sense, why have cameras if you weren't going to use them.

A shadow was cast over her before she could look up to see which one of the monsters it was. A fist collided with her left cheek she heard the smack of skin on skin the ringing started in her ears, another smack this time to her right cheek, then a crack as a foot smashed into her leg. She felt her bone snap from the sudden impact a scream tearing itself from her lips it was joined by the low rumble of laughter, they were enjoying this, they were enjoying hurting her.

"What do you think guys?" A voice said all three men gathered around the chair examining their catch, the dark purple bruises already blossoming on her cheeks and her right leg was bent funny.

"Not enough blood I don't think here I'll fix that" Chris announced, examining her face his breath heavy and hot on her cheeks making them sting, before slamming his fist into Jenny's nose causing blood to pour down her face, she could taste the copper on her tongue, "much better!"

They went to all the cameras and little red lights became visible all around the room they left the one directly in front of Jenny til last.

"Let's say hello to your husband shall we Mrs Ryan" Wez said

"Three..." The pain was overwhelming every one of Jenny's senses,

"Two..." She tried to think straight but her mind wouldn't cooperate,

"One..." The light turned red as the hell began.

Writer's ramblings

Dun... Dun... Dunnnn! So cliffhanger... mwhaaaaaaa. Please feel free to comment :) plus shout out to the people who have left kudos or commented!!!


	4. Camera, lights, action

Ryan

"Ok so get this our serial killer has been spotted in New York." Ryan stated as he walked over to the white board which Kate was already busily scribbling on. 

"How'd you know that?" Espo asked as he took Beckett's seat, on her desk, next to Castle.

"There's CCTV footage of him in our wonderful city-" Ryan was interrupted by a rally of gasps and whispers running around the office, "What's going on?"

As he finished the sentence all of the computers and TVs in the precinct went black they gathered round Beckett's computer as an image slowly came into focus. Kevin felt as if he was falling, falling down the rabbit hole into an unfamiliar world, a world where his wife was tied to a chair bleeding. His beautiful wife was in danger his heart ached, his hands shock but his mind was perfectly calm.

"That's my house, she's at home" it was obvious to him but he needed to say his thoughts out loud "get a SWAT team there now, I'll meet you there." But even before he could take a step towards the elevator a voice came from the screen that sent chills down his spine.

"Hello there Kevin Ryan, I'm just having a bit of a...." The man paused as he walked painfully slow to Jenny her breathing hitched, she was in pain. "Play with your wife."

Kevin ignored the stranger and focused on his beautiful wife, the fear was clear in her eyes, the eyes that would usually sparkle with the light of a thousand stars but those stars weren't shining now they had been covered by pain. 

"Here's the deal Kev, can I call you Kev, anyway. You are going to help get my brother out of prison you have 5 hours to do so and every hour after that Jenny gets hurt. Is that understood. Lovely. See you in 5 hours Kev, oh and don't test my patience"

The screen went black, the precinct was silent everyone seemed frozen in that minute.

"Ryan." a voice said, it seemed distant almost a whisper.  
"Kevin" another voice added.  
"Hey" this voice came with a push, just a gentle shove to the shoulder but it was enough for Detective Ryan to come back to reality, the reality where his wife was being held by criminals. He released the breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding and unclenched his now sore fists.

"We'll save her ok, I promise she'll be ok" his partner said in a soothing tone. Ryan just stared blankly at him, no emotion, no fire in his eyes, just a broken man.

"Don't make promises you can't keep Javier" with that Ryan made his way to the elevator pressed the button but as soon as Beckett started to make her way to him he switched to taking the stairs.

"Beckett" Esposito went after her, "just give him some time. He won't go home, he won't be a hero he's not stupid and he would never do anything to put Jenny in danger." Beckett nodded but still felt her like she should be helping in some way.

Ryan stormed out of the building making a few passerby tut and give him strange looks but he ignored them and walked down the street until he go to an alley way. Shrugging off his jacket and loosening his tie Ryan went deeper into the alley until he couldn't be seen from the street he hit the wall with all the anger and force that he could. Then again and again and again until blood was pouring from his hands covering his white shirt, one more hit and Ryan's anger slowed to a slow throb in his heart, each hit didn't take the pain away but it gave him something else to focus on.

Resting both his aching hands on the wall Ryan felt the grief beginning to creep in the part of his brain that wanted to just give in and that's what he did, as he slid down the wall his legs gave out, slumping to the ground Ryan never wanted to get back up again.


	5. A kick in the balls

Jenny

4 hours 30 minutes left.

Jenny thought she would never get back up again. She was still tied to the chair, her hands and arms aching. Chris walked over to her holding a black gym bag she couldn't help but flinch away from him. She jumped when the bag crashed to the ground, a smile spread across his face, he bent down and undid the rope around her left, the broken, leg. He pulled her jeans leg up as high as he could, the skin was a nice purple colour.

"Well there's definitely some internal bleeding but that may just be because of the way your leg was broken either way looks like it hurts like hell" he was right, it did hurt like hell, it was throbbing in time with her heart beat.

"Where did you get your medical training." She asked, she thought that any information about them might be valuable if she did make contact with Ryan or anyone from the team.

"Clever girl trying to get information out of me, sorry though love I won't break so easy" Chris replied, he looked as though he was actually impressed with her but that was probably just a trick of the light or his own pride coming through.

Whilst they had been talking Chris had wrapped his fingers around Jenny's lower leg, just below the knee, and now without warning he squeezed. And she screamed, screamed and yelled, tried to kick her legs and swore. It felt like her whole leg was going to be pulled off.

There was a final crack and he let go not before Jenny's foot collided with his crotch, he collapsed on the floor and, like her reeled off, a colourful array of swear words. There was a chorus of laughter from Tyler and Wez who were currently emptying out the fridge watching the show from a safe distance.

"What the hell did you do to my leg!" Jenny shouted, she dared move it but even the feeling of her jeans on it felt like a million nails being thrust into her skin.

"What did you do to my balls is the better question!" Chris yelled back, the yelling and commotion woke Sarah Grace her cries drowning out the yelling and laughing.

"Please let me see her." Jenny pleaded to Tyler, not only did she want to check on her angel but it was the perfect excuse to get into her nursery, to her only escape route. Wez looked at Tyler waiting for a command, with a short nod Wez disappeared into the nursery.

"No let me go to her" Jenny said, the mere thought of such a disgusting man touching her daughter made bile rise up in her throat.

"It's alright Wez is good with kids" with that Wez came back into the room carefully cradling a bundle of blankets in his arms. She was all patched up, meaning her leg being bandaged by a disgruntled Chris.

Tyler shock his head when Wes went to give Jenny her baby and even though she knew it would have been better if she had gotten into the nursery, and out of the unlocked window, she was happy that her little girl was being taken care of.

"She needs a change and food" she declared, much to Tyler and Chris' horror, they obviously weren't fathers themselves but Wez obediently received a bottle of milk and nappies. "Put the bottle in the microwaved for exactly 30 seconds, no longer or it'll be too hot."

Again Wez obeyed. Jenny liked to have some power again even if it was just a little. Wez disappeared into the nursery holding a bottle and nappies, she watched him go. She clenched her hands wishing they were around her baby girl. She yearned to see her husband walk through the door and save her, but he wouldn't, he couldn't. She knew that. He wasn't going to risk it.

"Time for some more fun now." Tyler sneered, having taken a step back when it came to Sarah Grace, he was obviously bored now.

"You can't it hasn't been 5 hours yet" Jenny said making sure she never broke eye contact with him.

"That doesn't matter, I just told your husband that you would be hurt after 5 hours, I never said that I wouldn't hurt you during those 5 hours. So would you prefer to have your teeth pulled out or have a few finger nails pulled off, it's your choice."

"Why would you hurt me after Chris patched me up?" Jenny asked, she was confused, if they wanted the NYPD to respond and do what they say then hurting her wouldn't help.

"Well he patched up your leg, but I was more thinking about giving you some medication for the pain. Let me just grab my bag of fun." Tyler picked up one of the black bags and placed it at her feet, he opened it allowing her to see the range off knives, needles, vials of liquid and guns. It did not look very fun.

He carefully picked up a needle and vial with a label that just had a bunch of letters on them, in a way she was glad she didn't know what it was. Once the syringe was half full he squirted a little out of the top giving the needle and flick before plunging it into Jenny's arm. As she watched it disappear into her skin she wished that she'd fought harder. Her vision swum and the world spun.

"Goodnight Jenny, see you when you wake up"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writer's ramblings:  
> Well I hope you like this chapter please feel free to comment to tell me your thoughts. I especially enjoyed the kick in he balls :) especially because he punched her in the mouth so it is kind of revenge!!!


	6. Who are these bastards?

Ryan

4 hours 27 minutes left

Every time the elevator dinged Beckett stared until it emptied and disappeared again, she'd given up looking by the time Ryan rode the elevator back to the office, although the murmurs alerted her to his . It was a shock to see her friend covered in blood, it even scare her slightly, but she just silently watched with Castle and Espo as a Ryan reached into his draw and changed into a clean shirt. Once he looked like the normal Ryan again they all tried to act normal.

"Are you ok?" his partner asked.

"Yes" was the reply "I hit a wall." That was the only explanation needed, the detectives turned their attention to the white board that had been set up, on it was a picture of Jenny holding Sarah Grace instinctively and without realising Ryan reached out gently touching the photo.

"Gates said we have the whole of the NYPD at our disposal." Castle said trying, in vain, to comfort Ryan.

"There were 3 men that I saw we need names on all of them now." Ryan stated not taking his eyes off the picture "Esposito you do that, Beckett you go through old case files and I will go through the video to see if there is anything useful."

"I'll do that Ryan you-" Beckett started

"No I'll do it, it's my wife, ok" he didn't want to watch his wife get hurt repeatedly, but he felt as though if he watched it, his pain would match Jenny's and he wouldn't feel so guilty for not being able to protect her.

Ryan sat down at his desk as he opened the email and clicked the link, Ryan's heart sunk.

"And so it begins" he said to himself.

After the 10th time of playing the video Ryan gave up he had gone over every inch of it, no changes to the apartment, he knew they had come in through the front door as it was the only entrance apart from the windows and judging by the size of the three men they couldn't get through a window. He didn't know who the men were. All he knew was that they were armed. He couldn't go storming into his house and hope his wife or daughter didn't get hurt in the process.

"Should I call them?" Ryan asked himself, there was no one close enough to hear him anyway "no I can't do that it'll just make them more mad and they might react badly. Stupid idea!" As he said that he slammed his fist into the desk causing the wounds on his knuckles to open up again. Blood trickled out and covered the keyboard as well as his phone. He picked it up and used tissue to get the blood off, suddenly an idea struck him. "What if we get there mobile numbers from my house?"

Esposito heard him that time.

"What mate?" He asked sighing as he saw the state of his partner's hands. "Oh come on they only just stopped bleeding" he picked went to his desk draw and brought out some bandages and tape.

"What if we track the men's cellphones" Ryan repeated, reluctantly allowing Esposito to bandage his hand, "I have a wifi connection at my house, as soon as they walked in their phones would have connected"

"Isn't it password protected or something" Espo questioned, admiring his handiwork "and why would they want to connect to your rubbish wifi anyway, you can't even get internet in your house"

"Yes you can" Ryan argued, "and that's not the point, even if you don't know the password your phone still tries to connect which, if their phones aren't properly fire walled and protected, means that we can access minimal amounts of data off their phones"

"For a guy who knows a lot about technology you should be ashamed that you let your friends suffer with such rubbish wifi." Ryan shoved Javier playfully, knowing that he was teasing to try and take his mind off things, it worked but he didn't allow his mind to wander too far off topic.

With that he began typing away on his computer, connecting to his wifi at home to see if he could trace it. Ryan was known for being moderately tech savvy, more so than most people. Although Jenny did not have a love for technology hence a cheap wifi system that Ryan could easily use as a tracker without needing to enter special data.

"I've got it, there were three unknown phones trying to connect to the wifi at..." Ryan stopped mid sentence, he read the time over and over in his head "they got there 30 minutes after I left for work, I must have passed them, I might have seen them and I didn't do anything."

Espo could see the guilt creeping in to his friend's mind and he knew how dangerous it could be if guilt took hold, "you couldn't have known Ryan, you could sit here all day and play the what if game. What if you had taken the day off, what if you passed them in the hall, that doesn't matter now. What does matter... Is the fact that you can save your family from this, they need you ok so please don't disappear on me. You have to fight, ok."

Ryan's only response was to nod, it was funny how well Javier knew him, how he had so easily voiced Kevin's deepest thoughts and concerns.

"Now who are these bastards?" Javier said looking at the computer screen. There were 3 pictures one blonde, one brunette and one they already knew. "Oh god, that's the serial killer, The Shooter."

Writer's ramblings

If you don't know who The Shooter is you can go back to chapter 2 but basically he is the criminal the team are looking for in connection with some very brutal deaths. He does everything from A-Z with his victims then he shoots them. And what I mean by everything from A-Z is... Well you'll just have to wait and see what happens to his new victim, Jenny Ryan.


	7. More heart ache, more pain

Chapter 7

Jenny

4 hours 13 minutes left

"Wait is she.."

"Ah finally I was getting bored..."

"She's falling back asleep again"

A sudden sharp pain fizzed on Jenny's skin. It was a slap.

"How much did you give her?"

"It's the blood loss"

"Don't be stupid she hasn't lost that much blood, yet. It's the trauma"

Another slap this time with enough force to makes Jenny's head swivel, to the left, her brain felt like it had come loose in her skull. She forced her eyes open, not wanting a slap to become a punch or worse, the bright light made her eyes sting and water.

Chris shone a light in her eyes, making her follow it. Seemingly happy with her, the light went out and Chris nodded.

"Hello Jenny, you've been out for so long thought you'd never wake up. Which would have been a shame because I quite like hurting you, much more fun than the people before you" Tyler said, "Now I'm gonna have some fun. Where shall we start…?"

Jenny pondered the idea that there were people before her, that meant they'd done this before, she tried not to think about whether those people were still alive or not. She looked down to see him running his hand over the assortment of weapons he had laid out on the floor. How had she not noticed them before, they were all over the place surrounding her, they came in all shapes and sizes but the one that scared her the most was the gun. It sat directly in front of her chair. She was used to having guns in the house because of Ryan, he even kept a gun in the bedside draw, but there was never the possibility of those guns being used on her.

"Tyler can I choose?" Wez said, he sounded like a child getting excited that he could choose what toy they wanted from the shop, Tyler nodded to him and with a Cheshire cat smile across his face Wez picked up a glinting object.

It ripped through her skin right to the bone.

She screamed out of shock then pain; agonising, terrifying, searing pain. The knife was slowly pulled out of her rib, she stared at her right side, the blood gushing. Drenching her top in crimson.

"You bastard. This is my favourite top" Jenny said, in a matter of a fact tone, no anger or sadness or even pain in her voice. She was glad that none of the emotions bashing around in her head had come through in her voice, but she was not sure she could finish another sentence without crying. The men standing in front of her were laughing. If it hadn't been for the pain it would have looked like a scene out of a movie, Jenny was the audience and they were the bad guys hurting the hero, but she didn't feel like a hero or even a sidekick. She felt like the damsel in distress and that wasn't a good position to be in.

"My turn!" Chris said going to reach for a bigger knife but he Tyler held him back, like a dog that had been told off he stood back up, head down. Tyler picked up a lighter and to Jenny's surprise pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, he light up he took a long drag, all the while keeping his eyes fixed on her. Wez and Chris got bored of watching the standoff and sauntered into the kitchen to finish off the rest of the food.

She wanted to say something, anything. Something witty, matter of a fact, mean even but all she could do was stare at the serpent in front of her.

"This is going to hurt" Tyler pressed the end of his cigarette into her arm, she refrained from screaming at him and never broke eye contact, "hm... You're one tough cookie aren't ya"

The pain ran up her arm and down to her finger, it hurt so much, but she wouldn't let it show. She was going to be strong for her little girl and for herself. She though they might get bored of hurting her if she stopped reacting.

After taking a few more drags of the cigarette he pressed it into her arm again, they were exactly in line, he smiled when she flinched and flexed her fingers. Her body betraying her. He picked up a knife that looked more like a thick needle.

"Don't be fooled by its appearance this knife is sharp and painful especially if it's heated." Tyler relight his lighter and held the knife over it. After a few minutes before bored of just holding it there and started looking at the other weapons but he seemed determined to use that particular knife on her. "Wez! Come and hold this"

"No way, not after last time." Wez held his hands up and refused to move an inch, curiosity got the better of Jenny but she resisted the urge to ask the story behind it. Chris rolled his eyes and went to Tyler taking the knife carefully from him so that he didn't burn himself.

Tyler stood up and went over to Jenny, he stroked back some of her hair, his breath against her neck Jenny resisted the urge to vomit all over him.

"This is only the beginning my Jenny darling"

Writer's ramblings

So please send me messages of your ideas, for what makes Wez scared of lighters/fire, through private message :) thanks for the reviews and follows!


	8. Harsh new reality

Chapter 8

Ryan

3 hours 20 minutes left

"I need everyone searching for this guy real name remains unknown but code name, given to him by the media, is the Shooter" Ryan said to the NYPD precinct. Gates said they had access to everyone they wanted and Ryan used that to his advantage. As soon as Javier had told him who he was dealing with he had a purpose, someone to blame, a lead.

"Tory has five pictures of this asshole which we need to circulate through every other precinct, federal agency and anyone else that could help." Beckett said, she said asshole with spite and hatred, for Ryan it felt good to know that his friend was as angry as he was. The police officers facing him kept giving him sympathetic looks or avoiding eye contact all together but he didn't want their pity. He wanted his wife back, he needed them to be committed to the case and as passionate as he was.

"Look, this is going to take overtime and a lot of hard work but my..." Ryan paused, having all the attention on him and having to admit allowed loud his new, terrifying reality, was more daunting than he thought "my.. Um... Jenny and Sarah Grace are in the hands of this psychopath and his, friends. They could be hurt and if they're not already, they will be hurt if we don't fulfil this guys wishes or find them first."

"Detective Ryan. I need to talk to you" Gates said from the door of her office, Ryan followed her back in but as she shut the door and sat behind her desk he knew this wasn't going to be a fun conversation.

"We cannot afford to let criminals out of jail" Gates stated, the matter of a fact tone she said it in was a hit to Ryan, there was no sympathy in her voice, she acted like this was just another case.

"That's not good enough. It's my wife and daughter that are in trouble Gates, they need to be saved and in order to do that we need to let those criminals go."

"I can't detective, I just can't, my hands are tied. I understand that-"

"NO! No you don't understand. No one could understand the pain I am going through right now. Every moment I'm not with her, my wife could be getting hurt. My baby could be crying for me but I'm not there." He shouted and raised his voice then whispered "She could be..." Ryan didn't need to finish the sentence the word dead hung in the air mocking him for being so weak, for not being there as a father or husband, for letting them down.

He glanced one more time at Gates and before she replied he went to the door and slammed it behind him. Slumping down at his desk, the glass in Gates' office wasn't soundproof, everyone heard him shout luckily no one heard his last comment. Javier, Beckett and Castle didn't react or go over to him. They gave him the space he needed then when Ryan started swinging on his chair his partner stood up and got the attention of the precinct again.

"We can't get the men we need out of jail." Hearing it out loud made the hole in Ryan's heart ache more "we need to find another way to get Mrs Ryan out of that house, work every angle and scenario, if it involves risking Jenny's life don't even bother mentioning it"

The officers dispersed and as they went about their work they all whispered and gossiped. Some were whispering words of sympathy for Ryan and questions about how they were going to get his family out safely. There were even a few whispers about the Shooter and what he did to his other victims but no one dared talk about that too loudly, they feared Ryan would hear them, but even so Javier would give them the disapproving look he had been giving everyone who even mentioned the risk of Jenny and Sarah Grace being hurt. He even took Officer Hinesburg to one side, because she gossiped too loudly about what might happen to Ryan's family, she was the gossip queen of the NYPD.

"It will be ok Ryan I promise." Castle said giving his friend a sympathetic look. The writer had been contributing to the research and discussions but he kept himself busy mainly by making coffee and honey tea for Ryan. Most of which went untouched, on his desk, but still the action calmed Castle and let Ryan know that he was there for him.

"Don't pity me Castle. And how, how can you promise that everything's going to be ok. This isn't one of your make believe stories, this is real life, not everything is perfect and happy endings! We don't have a plan. We can't get them what they want. Even with the whole precinct at our disposal we can't get in their safely. So don't tell me everything is going to be ok just because you say it is" Ryan knew his spiteful words were hurtful and even though Beckett gave him an angry look he ignored it and went towards the elevator. Thinking that it was a better idea to take his anger out on a wall than a friend who was only trying to help.

Writer's Ramblings

For anyone who has read the Castle book series, they're the Nikki Heat series written by Castle in the TV series, their good, but back on track Officer Hinesburg is a character in the books.


	9. Screaming makes you feel better

Chapter 9

Jenny

2 hours 42 minutes left

She screamed and screamed and screamed. She didn't care if she got slapped or kicked or cut with another knife she was desperate. Someone had to hear her. Someone had to help her.

"For god's sake woman, SHUT UP!" Chris shouted at her, slapping her again. "For the last time no one can hear you! We put rung your neighbours and told them not to go back to their homes for 24 hours, official police business and all that."

She didn't care, she knew they probably weren't home anyway, but screaming made her feel better. Even just the look on the men's faces when she got the to full volume of her screams how they cringed and backed off before landing a punch or kick on her.

"Enough" Tyler held the gun at her forehead, that made her stop. She looked at the piece of metal then back at the devil holding it. He was smiling. He'd gotten the power and control back.

"You can't kill me the times not up yet" Jenny stated, she was exhausted and her mind was to tired to feel the full effects of the fear that was gripping her soul.

"You know what love. I don't think I'm going to get my friends out anyway so might as well put an end to this now. Let detective Ryan come home to find his wife and child dead." The mention of her little angel fuelled the fear inside her, suddenly she was paralysed as her mind unwillingly played over images of her baby girl being hurt. She shook her head violently trying to rid her mind of the horrifying images.

"Don't you dare lay a finger on her you bastard or I'll-"

"Or you'll what scream us to death. Glare at us. What are you going to do Jenny?" Wez mocked "your tied up in a chair, your powerless and defenceless we can do whatever we like"

"My husband will throw you in jail. Or better yet but a bullet through your brains" Jenny knew that Ryan was coming for her, she only wished that he'd hurry up. She'd tried to wriggle out of the ropes until her wrist bled and she couldn't even move her legs.

"Tell you what. I really want to meet this husband of yours, you know face to face. Let's get him here shall we?" Tyler lowered the gun and placed it back on the floor with the other torture devices they had laid out.

He retrieved a camera from the corner, carefully setting it up aiming the lens at Jenny. The little red light went on for the second time that day.

"Hello again Kev, as you can see your wife is well... She's in bit of a pickle really. Oh and yes that is all of her own blood, yes we have hurt her and no we're not afraid to do it again." Tyler said from behind the camera, Jenny tried to look strong but knew she was failing so she instead decided to glare at the men in front of her.

"Your wife is a lovely hostess by the way. We've been well fed and watered. She on the other hand has not had a chance to eat or drink anything today, I suppose she must be very hungry. Why don't you ask that nice medical examiner of yours to tell you how long a person can last before dehydration sets in, that'll be a good fact to know. We wouldn't want your wife dying on us before you get a chance to swoop in and rescue her, now, would we." Tyler stood just off camera, arms crossed, saying those words as if he was having a conversation with someone at the pub not talking to a camera while a bleeding woman sat not 3 feet away.

"If our clocks are correct you still have 2 hours left Kev, that has now halved, you have one hour to deliver who I want or your wife and daughter die. Have a nice day."

Writer's ramblings

Yes I did just do that, I'm afraid.


End file.
